Seems like author making a bit of a leap from "Crawford allegedly offered players up to $50 for whoever made the 'hit of the game,'" (which is admittedly problematic but big hits are part of the game and strong tacklers are an asset on defense) to "paying 11-year-old players to purposefully injure opponents" (which should result in child endangerment charges)

Getting a reward for the biggest hit was totally something my peewee coaches would have done. The coaches definitely wanted us to hit the other team so hard they'd be afraid to come out on the field. We used to get candy bars for every turnover we came up with ($50 sounds like it's from a rich town, because my coaches could never afford that). They would never allow us to intentionally injure a player. There is just way too much opportunity to make a big legal hit.

No one actually knew how to unload ridiculous hits until high school anyway.

Snapper Carr:Seems like author making a bit of a leap from "Crawford allegedly offered players up to $50 for whoever made the 'hit of the game,'" (which is admittedly problematic but big hits are part of the game and strong tacklers are an asset on defense) to "paying 11-year-old players to purposefully injure opponents" (which should result in child endangerment charges)

There was also this: "Former players said Crawford explained his system during an Oct. 27th film session at his home, where he told the team that the player with the most votes would win the money and that the most money would be won if the other team's best player was hurt too badly to continue."

I certainly agree that the whole story could be balloon boy style parents egged on by alarmist quasi-news organizations tho.

This quote is hilarious: "The players were too eager for cash to worry about the proposal's sportsmanship. One told reporters: "I was so excited, I didn't think that much about it.""

Never surprising, given the fact that more Americans care about watching football and being mindless entertainment seeking drones rather than being alarmed by our Government caused insolvency, the further erosion of our rights, and the fact that our recent ancestors went through a similar period of economic hardships that eventually lead to war on a global scale.

Dadoody:Never surprising, given the fact that more Americans care about watching football and being mindless entertainment seeking drones rather than being alarmed by our Government caused insolvency, the further erosion of our rights, and the fact that our recent ancestors went through a similar period of economic hardships that eventually lead to war on a global scale.

[imgupld.lunaticoutpost.com image 220x253]

in all fairness, this state of affairs did not happen overnight. the large and in charge have been manipulating the masses for a very long time. in part that's why we have the internet to muck about in. all those schools of higher learning making all that money educating idiots that get to piss away their hours posting their opinions on countless websites. and don't forget the porn.

it's a self-screwing so we get what we deserve. whether it's an american bank, corporation, wall st, insurance company or what have you, it is we the people working those jobs and taking their money. we may complain about the dooshbags of WashDC but we don't march on in there and lop off their heads. we have only ourselves to blame.

KrispyKritter:Dadoody: Never surprising, given the fact that more Americans care about watching football and being mindless entertainment seeking drones rather than being alarmed by our Government caused insolvency, the further erosion of our rights, and the fact that our recent ancestors went through a similar period of economic hardships that eventually lead to war on a global scale.

[imgupld.lunaticoutpost.com image 220x253]

in all fairness, this state of affairs did not happen overnight. the large and in charge have been manipulating the masses for a very long time. in part that's why we have the internet to muck about in. all those schools of higher learning making all that money educating idiots that get to piss away their hours posting their opinions on countless websites. and don't forget the porn.

it's a self-screwing so we get what we deserve. whether it's an american bank, corporation, wall st, insurance company or what have you, it is we the people working those jobs and taking their money. we may complain about the dooshbags of WashDC but we don't march on in there and lop off their heads. we have only ourselves to blame.

Dadoody:Never surprising, given the fact that more Americans care about watching football and being mindless entertainment seeking drones rather than being alarmed by our Government caused insolvency, the further erosion of our rights, and the fact that our recent ancestors went through a similar period of economic hardships that eventually lead to war on a global scale.

[imgupld.lunaticoutpost.com image 220x253]

This so-called "Football" appears to be a bit of a sacred cow, somehow criticism is forbidden,

Case in point: Municipalities and schools eagerly remove playground equipment for "the safety of children" or more accurately, fear of lawsuits and ever-rising rates from greedy insurance companies.

Yes no red-blooded American would even think of suing a school that allows a sport that actually depends in incapacitating your opponent. Insurance companies are even scared to tread on that ground.

A few weeks ago, I took an overtime job EMTing for some peewee games. It's a pretty sweet gig, just sitting with the ambulance outside for six hours or so. Several times while other age groups were playing, kids came up and asked "has anyone got hurt yet??" When I answered no, they acted real disappointed. When I told them that they shouldn't want people to get hurt, each one told me that their coaches tell them to hurt the other team.

I witnessed the coaches screaming at 10 year olds in a manner far beyond anything my high school coaches did when I was 17 or 18. Besides the over-the-top yelling, the coaches didn't seem to know much else about coaching or the finer points of the game. They struck me as 30-something high school second-stringers trying to live vicariously through little boys.

There's a sense of statisfaction in delivering a big hit. But those kids are learning to headhunt, to be poor sports, and aren't learning the game very well because of idiot "coaches" trying to relive glory days that I suspect never really happened.

DubyaHater:Can we just admit humans are complete bastards by nature, and that you should never leave your child alone with Pop Warner football coaches trying to relive the glory days that never were?

I think sports are fine until you get around those assholes who take it so seriously. It's a damned GAME. It's supposed to be fun. We screwed up as a society when we started televising and betting on college sports, and then extended it to high school sports and little league and pee-wee stuff.

The same applies to cheerleading, by the way. Some of those girls (and guys) get seriously injured and take ridiculous (unprotected) risks because the coaches, parents, and culture takes it oh-so-damn-seriously. It's no longer meant to be fun: It's a COMPETITION and you have to WIN or you're a LOSER.

At some point, a lot of people stopped seeing children (and teenagers) on the field, and started seeing statistics, point spreads, and opportunities to gamble. They see a loss as a mark against their honor, and a win as confirmation that they're successful in life.

Honestly, these guys living vicariously through the non-adult athletes are no different than the parents on Toddlers & Tiaras who validate themselves through the exploitation of their children.

And teaching kids that winning is everything is just the sort of thing that makes the world suck. Winning is great, but you must also have perspective. Winning a ball game or trophy means NOTHING in the grand scheme of things, and it has no bearing on you as a person. People who wrap their whole identity up in a win/loss record seem sort of sad, to me. It's an addiction.

Play sports with your kids. Participate with them. But don't teach them that it's important, because it's not. Learning to treat other people decently is important. Learning to read is important. Learning to have a conversation without saying "f♥ck" every other word is kind of important. Learning to dress a wound is important. Being able to determine what parts of your body shouldn't be tattooed if you wish to work in the business world is important. Being able to keep track of your money is important.

Winning a sports season is just a nice thing to happen to you, and perhaps something to be proud of. It's not important. When you're 50, it won't have mattered how many trophies you won as a kid. It will matter if you learned to relate to other people without that vein in your head throbbing in anger every time you don't get your way... Because if you keep doing that, your kids will stick you in a nursing home and the staff will treat you poorly.

What was I saying? I dunno. It's Sunday. Just be nice to people and don't have a conniption fit over the comings and goings of a ball.

/And before my #1 fan and stalker shows up with his graphic: Ha ha! I said I fenced in college! It's hilarious, you see? Because fencing is obviously a pussy sport, so it's hilarious that I would boast about it! Ha ha! How clever!

VermontMoon:Typical shiat attitude of pointy football coaches that leads to their players to grow up as asswipes.

This is no surprise to me. I have seen pointy football coaches grab 8 year olds and publicly demean them by screeming in their faces.

There's a lotta things about me you don't know anything about, VermontMoon. Things you wouldn't understand. Things you couldn't understand. Things you shouldn't understand.You don't wanna get mixed up with a guy like me. I'm a loner, VermontMoon. A rebel. So long.